


For a Phoenix to be Reborn

by GeminiLightning



Category: Clear Skies (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Dominion War (Star Trek), Gen, Hope, Loss, Post-Dominion War (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeminiLightning/pseuds/GeminiLightning
Summary: Time changes, and sometimes heals, all things... Yet memories remain.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	For a Phoenix to be Reborn

Ten is for the number of homes that fell in the immediate neighborhood the day the bombardment started - 

Nine for the number of times the neighborhood baby cried before it… suddenly… stopped? - 

Eight is for the number of rounds that Jem’Hadar patrol made near their hiding spot before… Mercifully? Cruelly? Routinely? Making their way to the next location - 

Seven is for the cuts suffered on the bodies of her family as they ran toward the hills - 

Six is for the number of days they spent before being found by anyone, barely alive - 

Five is for the number of corpses passed nearby while being taken to a safer place - 

Four is for the number of times she threw up before her stomach calmed enough, and her mind became numbed enough, to everything around her, letting the gray overcome her - 

Three is for the number of times she cried before coming to the conclusion tears were a source of both strength and weakness, and shouldn’t be wasted for any occasion, but kept for the ones that truly mattered - 

Two is for the hands that clasped hers a few times during the dark days, the ones that she couldn’t get saved for one reason or another, always trying to remind herself that it wasn’t her fault, no, it was that damned Dominon’s fault, the people who had been tricked’s fault, the forsaken world’s fault…

One is for a nation shattered, a people betrayed, a legacy tarnished, a heart broken by circumstances far bigger than itself; a woman left, ultimately, to fend for herself.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Ten is for the number of times she had to steel herself before meeting the Federation on Cardassia Prime - 

Nine is for the number of times she had to remind herself that Olyn’s letter of recommendation wasn’t a dream, that her friendship with them was real, that it was okay to have such things like friends again, that the time for betrayal, distrust, tragedy, and war was over - 

Eight is for the number of times she doubted herself before committing to an ideal, a dream, a goal, a chance at something new, at least, for now -

Seven is for how much the brightness of the room increases every time Theq laughs, even if his personality grates on her and she doesn’t know how to be so… bright, so… just… personable - 

Six is for the number of times she’s actually let M’Qrell pet her during her visits to sick bay, each time pretending like she didn’t notice, each time knowing that M’Qrell knew that she noticed but was pretending otherwise, feeling both blessed by the fact that she was on a ship that had such a Doctor but also regretting that such a service hadn’t been available beforehand - 

Five is for the number of nods Sull has given her, each time leaving her with a sense of accomplishment, a sense of trust, a sense of duty, a respect for this Orion that she had never seen before, never heard of until Olyn had mentioned them, an understanding, wordless, that passed between the two of them that spoke of acknowledging each other beyond a cursory level, two equals plying their craft, beautifully weaving and bending to a work of their combined design - 

Four is for the times EXEO got the better of her in conversation, allowing cracks to show in her armor, each time feeling like an abject failure but each time feeling like she was being seen, being truly recognized for who she was, being encouraged to be the real her - 

Three is for the number of times it took before she realized that when Vrenn is acting ridiculous, when he’s making a fool of himself, it’s actually because he, too, is broken, and that’s how he chooses to handle things, and sometimes, she wishes she could be like him instead - 

Two is for the number of times it took for her to realize that she and Prahl are kindred spirits - battle-scarred, haunted, marked yet not overcome, survivors, bent on living on for the memory of those they lost, and toward a better future, because the future simply had to be better -

One is for a crew united, a hope rekindled, a heart slowly learning to trust, to grow, and a certain Bajoran-Betazoid that has reminded her that she, too, can love once more…

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

And, ultimately, that a phoenix can only be reborn from its own ashes.


End file.
